Children and War Foundation – supporting children's mental health in emergencies

More than 473 million children worldwide live in conflict-affected areas. Children and War Foundation trains local helpers in four countries to give children the psychological tools they need to move forward.

About the project

«Supporting Children’s Mental Health in Emergencies» continues and expands CAW’s evidence-based methods, including Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT), to local helpers in Ethiopia, Nepal, Palestine and Sudan. The project includes revising and translating manuals, training and supervising group leaders and trainers, a «training of trainers» model for local continuation, and a dedicated research and implementation project in Sudan in partnership with Ahfad University for Women. In Palestine, CAW works with UNICEF. The project aims to reach 2,000 children directly and 1,000 indirectly during the project period, with a goal of 10,000 per year once the training is fully operational locally.

How will Kavli Trust’s funding be used

Kavli Trust’s funding finances the project’s activities, including training group leaders and trainers, revising and translating manuals, and the research work in Sudan. Part of the funding also strengthens CAW’s own organisation, including through a new project coordinator position, which will build better systems, routines and fundraising work for the foundation.

About the organisation

Children and War Foundation (CAW) is a Norwegian foundation established in Bergen in 2000 by psychologists William Yule, Atle Dyregrov and Magne Raundalen. CAW develops and disseminates evidence-based methods to help children and families affected by war, conflict and disasters, with an emphasis on methods that can be used by local helpers without specialist training. The foundation is run largely through voluntary work from its board and a dedicated advisory council for research and implementation, made up of researchers and experts in fields including trauma treatment and psychosocial support in humanitarian crises. CAW also received funding from Kavli Trust in 2024, for further development and dissemination of the TRT method.